MIAMI, United States. – “Cuba was the only country in Latin America and the Caribbean that cut internet access in 2021”, according to the report The return of digital authoritarianismpublished by Access Now, an organization that watches over digital rights at risk around the world.
According to that report, the island’s regime responded to “the growing protests and demands for reform” by cutting off the internet and blocking social networks and virtual private networks (VPNs).
“In July 2021, while the Cubans filled the streets to demand access to food, water, medicine and vaccines against COVID-19, the Government imposed a cloak over the internet, ”says the report. “Even after restoring internet access, the authorities blocked WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal,” it adds.
Likewise, Access Now recalls that “while the island’s citizens used VPNs to access blocked services, the state ETECSA blocked the words ‘VPN’ and ‘freedom’, which could not be sent via SMS. VPN services have been working intermittently on the Island since October 2020.”
On the other hand, the text blames the Cuban regime for canceling the telephone service to “specific people.”
“This leaves those affected —mainly activists and journalists— completely disconnected, since ETECSA is the only company that provides internet in Cuba,” the report states.
Likewise, it condemns the fact that both the authorities of Cuba and those of Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Chad, Eswatini, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Pakistan, Senegal, Sudan, Turkmenistan and Uganda have completely interrupted or cut off internet access during protests in 2021.
“As we have noted in previous reports, network outages are used by governments as a tool not only to thwart and disrupt protests, but also to conceal human rights violations that are commonly linked to repression by security forces, particularly in countries that have authoritarian regimes or weak democracies,” Access Now concludes.
The organization also warns that some states have identified mobile internet blackouts as “an effective means of silencing people without necessarily having to take the entire country off the grid.”
“Authorities may also target mobile services in an attempt to silence their critics, who might otherwise privately find and share information and connect with one another to organize, using certain mobile devices, platforms or applications, such as networks. social, secure messaging applications or VPN”, adds the report.
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